Love Bruises
by Audrey T
Summary: At first Castiel thinks this boy, his soulmate, must be one clumsy kid because nary a week goes by before the second bruise chases the first.
1. Chapter 1

Castiel, like all lucky children, is born attached to another imperfect soul. His father, Charles, first realizes this near Castiel's six birthday, when he wakes up with a searing pain in his left leg and no discernable reason for why that would be. Later that afternoon, when a large bruise forms just above his shin, he knows somewhere out there lays a kid with a broken leg and a deep connection with his youngest son.

Over the years, as Castiel grows, his brothers relentless tease him about not only his bruises, but the obviously clumsy _nerd_ to which he is tied. Not a week goes by without a fresh purple bruise blooming somewhere on Castiel's body. He decides his soulmate must the clumsiest fellow on the planet or, at the least, the most reckless.

One day, when Castiel is twelve and walking home from school, a crippling feeling washes over him. He feels as though he's done an awful thing and the pressure of that guilt is attempting to crush him to dust. Of course for Castiel, a fairly good kid, there's no reason this feeling should cloak him. It last for less than five minutes, but it leaves him breathless and panting and on the edge of his very first panic attack.

In the years that follow, Castiel's anxiety (and consequent bouts of depression) gets incredibly worse and miraculously better at random intervals. Some days he can't make it out of bed and other days he forces himself to school on tired, trembling legs. When he finally leaves for college, he does so with hopes of finally leaving these issues behind.


	2. Chapter 2

Unfortunately for Castiel, it's not until his third year of college that things seem to get better. From the day he settles back into the dorms, he feels lighter. Better. He attributes it, mostly, to his new status as resident assistant and having his own room for the very first time in his life.

His second day back on campus, new students move in. He gathers with the other RAs in the common hall to help usher in them in. Because of his known physical strength and commitment to staying physically active, he's relegated as 'muscle' and helps families carry boxes and push dollies through the hall. At around noon, he meets the Winchesters.

The Winchesters, Sam and Dean, are not twins, which is Cas' first thought. Dean, the shorter one with cropped, dark blond hair, is the oldest. He starts at GeorgeU as a junior, having completed two years at a community college. His 'little' brother, Sam, who's bigger than any 18 year old has any right to be, is just a starting freshman. Still, the two opted to room together, which is something beyond Castiel's understanding. He would never, not in a million years, _choose_ to room with any of his siblings, not after a lifetime of sharing space with Gabriel. Perhaps, he thinks, not all people are as determined to flee the nest as he was.

The brothers are arranged to board in Castiel's quadrant and so he moves to make them situated. He hands them each a room key, a student parking pass for Dean, and their awaiting IDs. Then he escorts them to their rooms.

He gives all the new residents a day to settle before holding their first quad meeting. There are 22 coeds, 24 if he includes himself and Meg, the other RA for their section, and 14 rooms in all. He listens as Meg says the important stuff - mens' washroom is on the west end, women's on the east, quiet hours start after 10pm and run to 8am on weekdays, clean up after yourselves, don't smoke in your room, this is a 'dry' campus, _etc. etc. etc._

He watches the group of scraggly students - mostly bright-eyed, bushy tailed freshman - but he can't help but keep looking back to the Winchesters, who are both obviously happy to be here but neither bright eyed nor bushy tailed. The two make a point to stick together. They keep a low profile - hanging back again the wall - and make no effort to blend in with the other students. Instead, they huddle close and make subtle, expressive eye contact with each other. When Sam notices Castiel staring, he elbows Dean in the ribs and Cas is met with his unrelenting glare. He quickly diverts his attention, cheeks burning, and tries to keep his focus on Meg.


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next month, Castiel tries to get to know all the residents that fall under his authority. He finds that Anna, an only child from Ohio, is really into scented wax melts. You know you're near her room, when you're hit by the sweetest berry scents. Her roommate, Ruby (from Wyoming), makes a point to constantly complain about the smell - calling it suffocating and irritating to her sinuses - but they eventually come to an agreement that involves open windows and lavender.

The boys who currently live across from Cas, Manny and Baz, decided to forego a microfridge and instead keep loaded coolers under their bed. They're good for an errant Sunkist and Baz has a sweet tooth that keeps him fully stocked in Snickers and awake at all hours of the night.

Garth - who was listed at Ella, but don't you dare call him that! - and his roommate Abbie had a rough start, but Garth is charming (in a hapless sort of way) and Abbie loves a good fight so between hotbox sessions (Something Cas ignores as long as it's not done in their dorm room) and advanced chemistry, the two head the university's _Queer Clique_ in conjuncture (they say, thought Cas thinks it's mostly in opposition to) with the school's existing _Gay/Straight Alliance_.

All in all, this year's residence is an eclectic but decent mixture of students who are generally friendly, if not a bit odd. And yet, neither Meg nor Cas can crack the protective shield that hovers around the Winchesters.

Outside the dorm, Cas knows Sam ventures out. He's seen him in the library surrounded by smiling friends and in the hallways entranced by his favorite professors. He's a natural student and pelts forward into education with stunning vigor. He jests with Ruby - resting his elbow on top of her head to exaggerate his massive size. He regards Garth's extensive reservoir of knowledge with awe. He even finds commonality with Meg in their mutual understanding and appreciation of ancient languages, like Latin. He adapts easily into college life and it shows.

Dean, on the other hand, is somewhat of a recluse. Outside of classes, he's hard to find. Castiel thinks he shares his free time between the engineers' lab and his dorm, and he's seen him devour his share of food in the Caf. Usually he sits on the outskirts of whatever friends Sam has surrounded himself with, shoveling food in his mouth and pressing his nose into tough-guy novels. He spends most weekends locked up in his room, only escaping to the bathroom or for food, yet regardless of his mole status, people seem to flock to him and Cas is sure he excels in his classes.

On the rare occasions that Cas bumps into him, they only share gruff small talk before parting. Sometimes Cas wonders if Dean's personally affronted by him. Though he quickly let's that go, decides that it's just in his mind.


	4. Chapter 4

It's not until Thanksgiving break that Cas begins to wonder if something might be really wrong with the Winchester.

After all the residents have cleared out the dorms, he and Meg do a quick spot of all the rooms before leaving for vacation. Meg takes the west side and he takes the east. Thankfully neither encounter any serious infractions (though Meg needs to have a talk with Anna about those candles), but Cas comes across a disturbing sight in the Winchesters' room.

"Bare Bones" doesn't even begin to describe the state of their room. Aside from a few textbooks and school supplies, the room is practically empty. Each bed holds a singular pillow and a ratty throw blanket. Their chest of drawers seem vacant and even the closets look mostly unused. The walls are bare, with the exception of of some pictures Sam must have stuck to the door. It's all photos taken on campus. Photos of Anna and Ruby, Garth and Abbie, Manny and Zeke. There's even a couple of Cas himself and Meg - both dressed in goofy, homemade costumes at the Halloween bazaar.

There's an eerie sense of emptiness that leaks out of the room. It gnaws at the pit of Cas' stomach and he somehow feels guilty because of it. One his way out the door, he presses his fingers to the one framed picture in the room - two kids (Sam and Dean?) and a man and woman who must be his parents.

Over the long weekend, Cas chews on the Winchesters' dilemma. He wonders where the boys are this holiday as he pushes his own brother off the top bunk. As he savors his dad's homemade Eskimo pie, he wonders what Dean's eating and who's feeding it to him.

When he goes with his Dad to the local Walmart for some heavier winter gear, he wonders how the Winchesters plan to endure a harsh winter with just a small blanket for comfort. Under his dad's critical gaze, he picks up a few extra heavy comforters, sheet sets, and pillows to take back to campus with him.

The morning he's set to make his way back to school, he wakes up to the first new bruise in nearly four months. He smiles mildly at the reminder, wondering what this crazy boy has gotten himself into now.

Armed with the new bedding and a few other items he pilfered from the linen closet back home, Cas plans to arrive back at school ahead of the crowd. He hits the student lot a little before noon and notices (with some trepidation) that the Winchesters' beat up Impala already sits in the best spot. _Welp_, he thinks, _There goes my plans_.

He stands in front of one of the halls side entrances trying to slide his ID to open the lock, when Sam comes bounding out, nearly hitting him in the face in the process.

"Ho shit, Cas!" he says, grabbing for the bag Cas has almost dropped. "Didn't see you there. You're back early."

Cas nods, picking up his other suitcase, and follows Sam inside. "Yeah, needed to get away from my step mom," he lies. "She's kind of overbearing."

Sam just raises his eyebrows but doesn't respond otherwise.

Cas is, and always has been, a quick thinker, so as an opportunity presents itself, he takes it. "Give me a hand with my stuff?" he asks, moving further down the hall, leaving Sam little choice but to follow. As they walk to his room, he keeps talking, "Winter's coming soon," he says, "So she's packed me with a shitton of extra blankets and shit. I don't even know where I'm going to put this stuff."

As they get to Cas's door, he drops his luggage to search for his keys. "Hey," he says, the picture of nonchalance, "Any chance you and Dean could use some extra linen?" He smiles like he's almost embarrassed, as he opens the door. "I might be able to get Meg to take some of these off my hands - horder, you know - but maybe you want first dibs?"

Sam watches as Cas starts emptying the bag onto his bed and a pile of sheets cascade out, revealing thick fleece blankets and pillows. It's hard to imagine his linen-abundance dilemma as anything but genuine.

"Uh, wow," Sam says, eyes almost wide. "That's kind of crazy. Your mom...huh?"

"Step-mom," Cas corrects, genuinely blushing because maybe he did go overboard. "But you see what I mean, right?"

In a flurry, Cas starts plucking up stuff from his bed and stacking them high in Sam's arms. "Here. Take these. Give some to your brother." He grabs a bag of socks and places them on the pile, "Take these too. And tell tell anyone else if they need blankets or socks, come see me."

He ushers Sam out of the room before he can really think on it. And once the door is closed, meakes to clean up the mess he's just made of his room.


	5. Chapter 5

Cas doesn't see Dean again until two days later. He's sittng in the common room, watching Anna and Gabriel go head to head at some Wii dancing game, when Dean walks in, book in hand and sits on the other end of the couch. He gives Cas his usual gruff, "Hey, man," and then buries his nose back in his book for the rest of the night. It's definietly not 'social' persay, but certainly a step up from what Cas usually sees of him.

As the next weekend approaches, Garth and Zeke start pulling together a group to drive out to a Shredder concert in Cedar Mills. In the end, they get enough to fill two cars, Sam and Dean includeded. On Saturday morning, they load into Castiel's Jeep and Ruby's old Expedition. Surprisingly, the Winchesters get split up and Dean ends up in the backseat of Cas' ride, just behind the passenger seat. Cas spends most of the ride trying not to start at Dean's profile in the rear view mirror.

The show doesn't start until seven but they arrive in Cedar Mills at around four. It's a nice city with lots of pubs and shops, so they all decided to explore on their own and meet back just before the clubs' doors open.

After everyone dispereses - Sam leaving w/ Ruby, Garth, Anna and Abbie heading for an incense shop, and Zeke and Gabe meeting with a local tattoo artists for a consultation - Meg, Castiel, and Dean are left w/o any real direction.

"So what should we do?" Meg asks to the space that lies between the three of them.

Dean looks up at Meg, then Cas, and gives a small shrug before crossing his arms over his chest.

Looking around, Cas spots an open pub and nods in it's direction. "We're all 21, right? Let's leave the kiddies too it and grab a beer, yeah?"

Meg's eyes light up and she nods emphatically before turning to Dean. He just shrugs again before following Meg across the street, Cas falling silently in step beside him.

At the bar, they have a beer each. Castiel chooses a light ale, but Meg and Dean settle on some bitter lager. Meg and Dean fall into easy conversation about some issue she's having with their shared advanced physics class. Every so often, they try to include Cas in their conversation, but Cas left physics behind (and science in general) after he completed his prereqs and all their mumbo jumbo is lost on him.

When they move onto cars, Cas tries to join in with talks of his Jeep. He tells them it's in pretty good shape for a 12 year car, but lately it's been doing a weird kick-back thing when tries to reverse. "Yeah," Dean says, a small smile fitting his mouth, "I noticed."

He tells Cas it's probably a transmission thing. If he's lucky it just needs tranny fluid or a clean filter. "You can drop it off at the shop sometime and I can take a look."

This is how Cas learns that Dean part-times at Singer's Autoshop.

Over the course of the evening, Cas actually learns a lot more about Dean. It turns out that Dean and Sam (Sammy, he calls him), were raised by their fatehr in a small town north of Receda. Their mother was killed in a fire before Sam was even a year old and their father criss-crossed the country as a trucker. Dean spent his first two years at a community college so he could stay close to Sam and once he was old enough, they both applied to GeorgeU.

The way he tells it, Cas has no doubt there must be much more to the story than Dean's telling. Still, he's happy to get even that much.


End file.
